New Labour’s policy of “spin” and media “manipulation” has damaged democracy
and undermined public trust in politics, Lord Justice Leveson said.

The judge found that Labour had been anxious to avoid the “open hostility” that it suffered at the hands of newspapers in the campaign leading to its 1992 general election defeat.

However, attempts by Tony Blair’s key spin doctors, Alastair Campbell and Lord Mandelson, to “out-manoeuvre” the media have backfired, the Leveson Report found. “The perception of the politician as salesman, to be treated with circumspection by the wise, is an abiding obstacle to public trust and confidence,” the judge said.

Lord Justice Leveson suggested there were “lessons” to be taken from the New Labour era. “The issue probably owes its contemporary prominence to the critique of 'spin’ associated with the news management techniques of Lord Mandelson and Mr Campbell,” he said.

“Both, when invited by the inquiry to do so, painted a picture instead of a need to counteract unfair press hostility.”

However, from another perspective, the culture of spin caused “a breakdown of public trust engineered by political self-interest”.

“If New Labour did not invent 'spin’, it nevertheless found itself in an unprecedented place in relation to news management as an agenda item in its own right,” the judge said. “If the public do not have confidence in the politicians to provide a straight message even, where necessary, warts and all and the public do not have confidence in the press to provide a fair (although not necessarily balanced or impartial) account, everybody in our democracy loses.”

After winning the 1997 election by a landslide, Mr Blair appointed Mr Campbell to “an unprecedented position” as a political adviser with the power to give orders to civil servants. “It proved in the end to have been a highly controversial step, which has not been subsequently repeated,” the report said.

Responding to the report, Mr Campbell backed Lord Justice Leveson’s recommendations and attacked David Cameron for failing to embrace the judge’s plan. “Pitiful response of a weak leader putting his own interests before UK,” the former spin doctor said.

During evidence to the inquiry, the former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, denied his former aides Charlie Whelan and Damian McBride gave damaging anonymous briefings to journalists.

However, Lord Justice Leveson suggested that Mr Brown’s evidence was open to question. “Many political commentators have expressed surprise at this evidence,” the report said.

Even Ed Miliband said “the reason Mr Whelan left his position was 'because of the style of his operation’ and that he had raised a specific concern with Mr Brown about some of Mr McBride’s activities”.

Lord Justice Leveson recommended that the party leaders should publish a policy statement on behalf of their parties setting out how they will “conduct relationships with the press”. Senior politicians should also disclose details of their “long term relationships” with media owners and senior editors “which might be thought to be relevant”.

Every three months “details of all meetings” and records of phone calls, text messages and emails between politicians and the media should be published, he said.